Carpet testing machine



1966 LE ROY M. PENMAN ETAL 3,286,505

CARPET TESTING MACHINE Filed April 1'7, 1964 INVENTORS LEROY M. PENMAN60' EUGENE P. F ZER BY ATTORNEY United States Patent 'Ofiice 3,286,505Patented Nov. 22, 1966 This invention relates-to acarpettesting machineparticularly designed for testing the snag, shedding and pilling of thepile of carpet.

It is an object ofthe-inventionto provide friction producing means incontact with the pile of the carpet to be tested under a uniformpressure while reciprocating the friction means over the pile of thecarpet.

A further object of the invention resides in providing a testing machinehaving oscillating arms freely supporting a friction bar forreciprocating movement over the pile of a piece of carpet whereby thefriction bar contacts the pile at a uniform pressure throughout itsreciprocating movement.

Another object of the invention resides in providing a testing machinewhich is simple in construction, highly efficient in performing itsfunction and inexpensive to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent duringthe course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification andwherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughoutthe same,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the machine,

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the same,

FIG. 3 is a section taken on line 33 of FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of the friction bar andsupporting arm,

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a modified form of the friction bar, and

FIG. 6 is a section taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 5.

In the drawing, wherein for the purpose of illustration, a preferredform of the invention is shown, the numeral 5 denotes a metal standincluding a smooth metal top 6 supported at each corner by a verticalleg 7, the legs being braced near their lower ends by cross bars 8. Apair of rocker arms 9 are disposed on opposite sides of the stand havingtheir lower ends pivotally mounted, as at 10, to a bar 11 extendingbetween the legs. The rocker arms are connected together by a series ofcross rods 12 so that the arms will move in unison. The upper ends ofthe rocker arms extend above the top 6 and are bifurcated, as at 13, toprovide open ended slots to receive the ends of a friction bar 14extending transversely of the top. The bar 14- is made of wood having arounded lower edge 15 and at each end of the bar an angle bracket 16 isattached to the bar for limiting the longitudinal movement of the barwhen inserted in the bifurcations of the rocker arms. Attached to theinner sides of the rocker arms along the sides of the bifurcations arerollers 17 having frictional contact with the sides of the friction barto insure free vertical movement of the bar in the bifurcations. At eachend of the top 6 is a clamping bar 18 for holding a piece of carpet tobe tested, the bar being removably attached to the top by hand adjustingbolts and nuts 19. The pressure of the friction bar on the carpet isdetermined by weight bars 20 removably attached to the sides of thefriction bar by bolts 21. In the testing of some fibers it is desirableto cover the lower edge of the friction bar with a plastic sheetmaterial 22, such as Tygon or a round metal bar 23 may be fixedlymounted in a recess in the lower edge of the friction bar, as shown inFIGS. 5 and 6.

The rocker arms 9 are oscillated back and forth by a number ofoscillations of therocker 'arms.

'cam wheel 24having acam groove'25 which is engaged bya follower roller26 carried by one of the rocker arms.

The cam'which is eccentrically-mounted on the shaft 27 of an electricmotor 28imparts an oscillating movement toithe rocker'arms. The motor'28 is'mounted on a platform 29 supported by'the legs ofthe standbeneath the top- 6. The shaft of the motor is connected by an endlesschain 30 to a veeder'Root counter and controlwhich controls the motor toshut it off after a-pre-determined A main control switch 31 is mountedat the front of the stand beneath the top.

In operation, a :piece of carpet to be tested, or when comparative testsare made two pieces of carpet, are clamped to the top 6 of the stand bythe clamping bars 18. The friction bar 14 is then inserted in the slotsformed by the bifurcations 13 of the rocker arms 9 with its lower edgein frictional engagement with the pile of the carpet. The friction baris free to move vertically in the slots and the frictional pressure ofthe bar on the pile of the carpet is determined by the weight bars 20.Upon oscillation of the rocker arms 9 by the cam wheel 24-, the frictionbar is reciprocated over the pile of the carpet and owing to the freevertical movement of the bar in the slots of the rocker arms, thepressure of the friction bar on the pile remains uniform at all times.When it is desired to change the frictional contact between the frictionbar and pile of the carpet, the lower edge of the friction bar may becovered by a plastic sheet such as Tygon or a metal rod may be mountedin the lower edge of the friction bar. The friction bar is reciprocateda predetermined number of times to test the resistance of the pile toshedding, pilling and snagging. The expelled fibers of the pile arecollected and weighed for quantitative comparison.

It is to be understood that .the invention herein shown and described isa preferred example of the same and changes in the shape, size andarrangement of the parts may be made without departing from the spiritof the invention or scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. A pile fabric testing machine comprising a friction bar ofrectangular shape in cross section extending transversely of the fabrichaving one of its longitudinal edges in frictional contact with the pileof the fabric, means supporting the ends of said bar for free verticalmovement and means for rocking said first means to move said bar backand forth over the pile of the fabric.

2. A pile fabric testing machine comprising a stand having a flat topfor supporting the fabric to be tested, rocker arms pivotally mounted onopposite sides of said stand having their upper ends bifurcated andextending above the top of said stand, a friction bar extending acrossthe top of said stand in contact with the fabric having its ends mountedin the bifurcations of said rocker arms for free vertical movement, andmeans for oscillating said rocker arms.

3. A pile fabric testing machine comprising a stand having a flat topfor supporting the fabric to be tested, rocker arms pivotally mounted onopposite sides of said stand having their upper ends extending above thetop of said stand, a friction bar extending across the top of said standin contact with the fabric having its ends mounted in the upper ends ofsaid rocker arms for free vertical movement, and means for oscillatingsaid rocker arms.

4. A pile fabric testing machine as described in claim 3 including meansfor clamping the fabric to the top of said stand.

5. A pile fabric testing machine as described in claim 3 including asheet of plastic material covering the lower edge of said friction bar.

6. A pile fabric testing machine as described in claim 3 including around rod fixedly mounted in the lower edge of said friction bar.

7. A pile fabric testing machine comprising a. stand having a flat topfor supporting the fabric to be tested, a pair of rocker arms pivotallymounted on opposite sides of said stand having their upper endsextending above the top of said stand, means connecting said rocker armsfor movement in unison, a shaft, a motor for rotating said shaft, a camwheel eccentrically mounted on said shaft having connection with one ofsaid rocker arms for oscillating the rocker arms upon rotation of saidshaft, and a friction bar extending across the top of said stand incontact with the fabric having its ends mounted in the upper ends ofsaid rocker arms for free vertical movement.

8. A pile fabric testing machine as described in claim 7 including asheet of plastic material covering the lower edge of said friction bar.

9. A pile fabric testing machine as described in claim 7 including around rod fixedly mounted in the lower edge of said friction bar.

10. A pile fabric testing machine as described in claim 5 7 including acounter and control mechanism connected to said shaft and said motor.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS DAVID SCHONBERG,Primary Examiner.

1. A PILE FABRIC TESTING MACHINE COMPRISING A FRICTION BAR OFRECTANGULAR SHAPE IN CROSS SECTION EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OF THE FABRICHAVING ONE OF ITS LONGITUDINAL EDGES IN FRICTIONAL CONTACT WITH THE PILEOF THE FABRIC, MEANS SUPPORTING THE ENDS OF SAID BAR FOR FREE VERTICALMOVEMENT AND MEANS FOR ROCKING SAID FIRST MEANS TO MOVE SAID BAR BACKAND FORTH OVER THE PILE OF THE FABRIC.